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President Barack Obama's approval rating remains high in Massachusetts

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President Barack Obama speaks in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Obama is planning a major push using executive powers to tackle the pollution blamed for global warming in an effort to make good on promises he made at the start of his second term. "We know we have to do more â and we will do more," Obama said in Berlin.
(Associated Press)

SPRINGFIELD — President Barack Obama’s approval rating remains high in Massachusetts, although it has declined in recent months, according to a new poll released by The Republican/MassLive.com in partnership with CBS 3 Springfield.

The poll, released Saturday night by The Republican/MassLive.com and CBS-3 Springfield and conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute, found that 54 percent of registered voters approve of the job Obama, a Democrat, is doing and 40 percent disapprove (his disapproval rating was slightly lower among all adults, at 38 percent).

Obama’s job approval rating has dropped slightly. In late October, a Western New England University poll conducted for The Republican/MassLive.com found that 58 percent of registered voters approved of the president’s performance and 36 percent disapproved. In early October, a poll found that Obama had a 60 percent approval rating, with 35 percent disapproval.

The Obama administration has been beset in recent months by several scandals. These include the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups; questions over the government’s handling of the attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya; the Justice Department’s subpoenaing of journalists’ phone records; and the leak of information about the government’s secret surveillance programs of phone and Internet records.

But Tim Vercellotti, professor of political science and director of the Polling Institute at Western New England University, said there is no evidence that the scandals have had a significant negative impact on Obama’s reputation in Massachusetts. The previous poll was conducted at the height of Obama’s reelection campaign. “I think it’s more the natural letdown after an election,” Vercellotti said.

Obama’s continued support in Massachusetts also reflects the state’s Democratic-leaning electorate. The poll found that 85 percent of Democratic likely voters approve of Obama’s job performance. Independent voters are split, with 48 percent disapproving and 44 percent approving. Among Republicans, 89 percent are dissatisfied with Obama.

Cheryl Ewell, 64, a retired bank worker from East Bridgewater, is among those who is concerned about the recent scandals. But overall, Ewell, a Democrat who sometimes votes Republican, said she thinks Obama’s job performance is “fairly good.”

“I believe he saved the car industry and the banks,” Ewell said.

The poll of 717 adults, including 653 registered voters and 566 likely voters, was conducted June 16-20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for all adults, 3.8 percentage points for registered voters and 4.1 percentage points for likely voters.